


Just One Way To Know Its Worth

by Baccatapages



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/M, M/M, Mentions of radiation poisoning, Nothing explicit, Omega Tony Stark, Polyamory, Protective Avengers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Steve Rogers, an excess of brothers, enhanced!reader, eventually, radiation, screw ABO norms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 01:45:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19032211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baccatapages/pseuds/Baccatapages
Summary: Some would kill to be Delta, which is exactly what you were.Primped and pampered your whole life... you hated it. Despised it with a passion. You wanted something new, something different.Well, you should really be careful of what you wish for.The whole family had been delighted when you presented as a Delta whereas you knew your life had just been signed away. You couldn’t go anywhere on your own without a bodyguard. You couldn’t have friends over just in case. You weren’t allowed to have any Alpha friends which sucked.Sometimes you wished you could be a Beta. Then you could do what you wanted, when you wanted. No need to send your coordinates to your parents every five minutes. No need to drag your bodyguard along with you. No need for your brothers to fend off any potential suitors.





	1. Where The People Are

Everyone had a place in the world as either an Alpha, an Omega, or a Beta.

Omegas were, of course, at the top of the hierarchy. They wanted for nothing and lived lives of luxury. They were the prized jewels of any civilisation.

Betas were pillars of the community, being so level-headed and sensible, often considered to produce the brightest minds. They could be as strong as Alphas but weren’t distracted by hormones.

Alphas… well, they were slaves to hormones and natural instincts. Most considered them animals, beasts that needed to be contained. However, they could become good tradesmen and often provided good households.

But then along came the Deltas. The earliest officially recorded Delta was in the 1600’s, though it was speculated that Cleopatra may have been a Delta but it was never confirmed. Once they made themselves known as a totally different designation, they were revealed to be stronger than Alphas, exponentially brighter than Betas and were as fertile as Omegas capable of producing their own slick, too.

By 2014, when our story starts, Deltas were considered to be desired above all others. There were many laws protecting Delta rights and providing them with benefits. Of course, they were coddled and kept safe while given the best education and only mated with the most worthy.

By 2014, you were in your early twenties and you hated your life. It wasn’t like you wanted to stop living, oh no, you were actually slightly scared of death. You just… hated your lifestyle. You’d been coddled and protected and hidden away all your life. You had twelve brothers, all older than you, all incredibly protective of you.

The whole family had been delighted when you presented as a Delta whereas you knew your life had just been signed away. You couldn’t go anywhere on your own without a bodyguard. You couldn’t have friends over just in case. You weren’t allowed to have any Alpha friends which sucked.

Sometimes you wished you could be a Beta. Then you could do what you wanted, when you wanted. No need to send your coordinates to your parents every five minutes. No need to drag your bodyguard along with you. No need for your brothers to fend off any potential suitors.

Your mother didn’t understand why you were complaining. She herself was a Delta and loved living a life of luxury. Of course, she loved her family too and was very proud of them all. Three of your brothers were Alphas, one was a UFC fighting champion, another was a high-class engineer that worked in aeronautics, the other was a gold-medal Olympic champion in archery. Six of your brothers were Betas, four of them were classified as remarkable geniuses and worked in various fields of science or medicine, one was a neurosurgeon and the other was a successful novelist. The last three of your brothers were Omegas, one was a model for a famous fashion line you could never remember, another was an opera singer while the last was a ballet dancer.

Your twelve brothers all looked eerily similar and to most they would be indistinguishable to the untrained eye. Throughout the family, there was a distinguishable appearance in that you all had y/h/c hair and y/e/c eyes. Your brothers, apparently, resembled your paternal grandfather when he was younger just with different hair and eyes. You, however, took after your mother.

From a young age, you had a nasty habit of sneaking out of your family mansion (yes, mansion, more like estate, actually) and going out into the wide open world.

One of these times is where our story starts. You had just finished the last book in the estate library and were bored out of your mind. Your bodyguard, Veronica, was reading her own book in another chair. “Vron? I’m going to go to the toilet, I’ll be right back.” You said. Veronica nodded and you slipped into the bathroom. Just because you didn’t know when you’d next be able to go, you did go to the toilet, but after flushing you left the bathroom and instead of heading back to the library, headed for the back door.

You scampered through the gardens and made your way into the city centre. Walking along, you took in the city around you. It always seemed to change but stay the same and it fascinated you, considering most of the time you were restricted to the buildings of the estate. You had some money in your back pocket (you refused to wear dresses) and bought a drink to go from a café.

A flurry of scents assaulted your nose, ranging from Alpha to Omega, never mind the scents from the drinks and foods. You waited patiently in line, wondering what to get when someone cut in front of you. Not wanting to draw attention to yourself, you didn’t say anything but you noticed the barista at the till had spotted the man cutting in line.

Finally it was your turn and you gave a smile to the barista. “Hi, could i-“

“Congratulations!” He exclaimed. His nametag read Monty. “You’re our hundredth customer of the day! You get a free drink!”

You heard the man who had cut in front of you make a noise not dissimilar to a dying cat.

“Oh, erm, okay, cold I have a chai latte and a croissant, please?” You asked, putting some notes on the counter.

“Sure thing, but remember what I said, you get a free drink.” He pushed the notes back at her. “And the croissant is on the house. Go sit down, we’ll deliver it to you.”

You sat down, avoiding going near any windows when the man who had cut in front of you came over to you. “I’m Jack.” He greeted.

“Hi Jack, can I help you?” You refused to give your name, something your mother always told you to do unless told otherwise.

“I just feel cheated out of a free drink.” Jack said. “You know, that was meant to be mine.”

You frowned. “Didn’t you cut in front of me in line?”

Jack waved his hand. “Not important. But what is important is that I’m willing to forgive you if you help me out, if you know what I mean.”

“Leave her alone, Jack.” Monty chastised, coming over with your drink and croissant. “You make the whole room stink.” That was true, despite all the cologne and scent-blockers, Jack kind of smelled like dirty socks.

Jack huffed and stomped away while Monty set down your things and winked at you. “Mind if I sit? I’ve got a break now.” You nodded. From what you could tell, he was a Beta so not much of a threat.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know.” You said.

“Meh, it’s a nice feeling knocking Jack down a peg or two.” Monty shrugged. “Plus I own this café.”

“Really?”

“Yep. It’s my pride and joy.”

“It should be, this place is wonderful.” You complimented and watched as Monty preened with joy.

You and Monty continued to talk, at least, that was the last thing you remembered before the heat and the fire and the pain.

 

“Why aren’t we going in?” Steve demanded as a perimeter was set up by Wanda, a glowing red dome. “There are people there that need help.”

“Because I’ve got a Geiger Counter here, Capsicle and radioactive isotopes are floating around. We don’t need another Chernobyl.” Tony said grimly, flying down from where he’d been drifting over the disaster zone. “This radiation is not normal and it will get through any suit that we can make. Except mine, of course.”

“Steve.” Bruce said. “Based on the levels of radiation, the force of the explosion and the fires, I don’t think anyone would survive this.”

“But we have the serum.” Bucky insisted. “Wouldn’t we be safe?”

“We don’t want to risk it.” Tony said. “So we are going to stay put.”

“And what if people are alive? We’re just going to let them burn to death?” Steve snarled.

“They will have to find their own way out.” Tony said grimly. “I know you don’t agree with me on this, Rogers, but the diameter of the explosion and the radiation area is only nine hundred yards, okay? There probably aren’t as many casualties as we think.”

“A children’s centre, a nursing home and a march of shops were caught in the blast, Tony.” Steve scowled. “I think there are enough.”

“Wanda is containing the radiation.” Bruce said. “With luck, it’ll drop to the ground and then we can begin decontamination.”

Steve could only watch as a few scattered people staggered out of the blast zone, only to be whisked away in ambulances. A few of them were vomiting, some were just shaking and pale.

His attention was brought back when FRIDAY tuned into their comms. “Avengers, I have detected a bizarre change in radiation levels.”

“Bizarre how?” Tony asked.

“In that they are decreasing rapidly.” FRIDAY informed. “Exponentially faster than the estimated half life of Uranium-238.”

“What is the estimated half life?” Natasha pitched in.

“4.5 billion years.” The AI informed. “Based on my calculations, the area will be clear for inhabitation within two hours.”

“How the fuck is that possible?” Tony blurted.

“Language.” Steve chided.

“Are you sure that’s accurate?” Bucky asked.

“Positive, Sergeant Barnes.” FRIDAY said. “From what my sensors tell me, carbon dioxide generated from the explosion, along with many other gases, are being converted into oxygen.”

“Okay, something weird is going on.” Bruce said.

“You’re figuring this out now?” Sam snorted.

“Any ideas on how this is happening?” Steve asked.

“In my search for vitals, I have only found one that will not descend into mortality rates.” FRIDAY said. “They are situated in the café opposite the library.”

“I’ll go get them.” Tony said.

“Sir, I believe it would be within everyone’s interests for them to remain, at least until the area is decontaminated.” FRIDAY said. “I have reason to believe that they are absorbing the radiation and using it to strengthen their own vitals.”

“Is that even possible?” Bucky frowned.

“Cyborg, you’re on a team with a Norse God, a scientist who turns into a big green hulk and a girl with magic powers. Anything is possible.” Tony said.

When FRIDAY finally announced that the area was completely decontaminated, Steve jogged into the area through Wanda’s shield. There were some shouts for him to come back but he ignored them.

Steve expected to be breathing through the smoke from the fires but there wasn’t much and as he climbed through the window the café, he went over to try and find the person who was alive. Tony zoomed down and came up behind him, Geiger Counter in hand.

“There’s nothing.” Tony said. “Just… just background radiation.” He pointed the counter at Steve. “There’s none on you either.”

He strained his ears and tried to listen for a heartbeat, other than his and Tony’s. Eventually, he heard a faint one by one of the walls, relatively out of the way. Steve shifted away the debris to see two people sprawled there. One, a man as far as Steve could tell, was burned and charred beyond recognition. The other was a young woman who was slightly sooty from the ash, as well as out cold, but she had no cuts or bruises on her. She could just be sleeping.

Steve reached down and checked for a pulse, slightly startled when he found one. “Aw shit.” Tony swore, lifting up his faceplate. “That’s Y/N Y/L/N.” Steve looked at him blankly. “Delta daughter of the most powerful family in the world? Not ringing any bells? Well, her family is just one branch of one big family. There’s the Y/L/Ns, there’s the Lynwoods, the Ibbots, the Kingsleighs, the Antonis, the Floros, the Babineauxs, the Merciers, the Levesque’s? No? Not ringing any bells? There’s more, you know. All from the same family. What about the Killa? They were probably around when you were young.”

“Oh, yeah.” That name kind of rang bells. The Killa, his ma always told him to be nice to them.

Steve picked the young woman up into a bridal carry and took her back to where the ambulances were. Or at least, he went to do that until she woke up and started kicking and screaming at him with alarming strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, yes, i did give you 12 brothers in this... don't ask why. I suppose in this AU having multiple children, if you were in 'higher' classes would be very common and since people can adapt more easily to childbirth so there wouldn't be many of the adverse effects of having tonnes of children.


	2. Starting Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You tottered up to him, tapping him on the shoulder. “Uh, what’s going on?”
> 
> He jumped about a foot in the air, turning to look at you with wide eyes. “Oh, ma’am, you’re awake. You weren’t in your room and we thought- well, I’m glad you’re safe.”

You struggled to climb out of sleep, but eventually managed to haul yourself out and forced your eyes open, only to close them again at the bright lights. There was a quiet murmur of voices and you strained your ears to try and figure out if you recognised any of them.

“…to wake up.”

“It’s been five weeks!”

“The human body is a very complex and delicate thing, especially when it goes through drastic and sudden changes as Miss Y/L/N did. She could wake up in two hours or two decades. We simply don’t know.”

Two decades? You weren’t waiting two decades! You pulled your eyelids open again and turned your head in the direction of the voices. One speaker was a pretty Asian woman and the other was a man with the most obscene hip to shoulder ratio you’d ever seen. You could only watch as the two left the room, leaving you alone.

Your tutors had always told you that you were too brash and that you had to think before you acted, but mustering as much strength as you could, you sat up and that was probably a really bad idea. Strangely, you found you were just achy, like you’d just run three marathons consecutively. You swung your legs off the edge and grasped the IV stand.

The hallways were quite empty and it didn’t look like a normal hospital, not even a private hospital. You came across a waiting area with no one waiting, but you did spot a newspaper and you sat down and began reading it.

**_Terrorist Attack on Y/L/N Family?_ **

_A highly explosive bomb was planted beneath the floor of a library, to be set off once the Delta daughter of Y/L/N Family. This is suspected to be a political statement by extremists who oppose the social hierarchy. There are estimated to be 581 deaths and 678 casualties, but the status of Y/N Y/L/N is yet to be revealed…_

Your suspicions that you weren’t in a normal hospital were confirmed when an alarm started blaring. It didn’t sound right to be a fire or smoke alarm.

You put the newspaper away and hobbled along with the IV stand at your side to investigate. The blond man who’d been in your room when you’d opened your eyes was surrounded by people, agents, in black. He was directing them with a sense of urgency, telling them to go to certain places.

You tottered up to him, tapping him on the shoulder. “Uh, what’s going on?”

He jumped about a foot in the air, turning to look at you with wide eyes. “Oh, ma’am, you’re awake. You weren’t in your room and we thought- well, I’m glad you’re safe.” He turned back to the agents. “Tell them it was a false alarm.”

You took in his red, white and blue uniform. “You’re Captain America, aren’t you?” You asked as he helped you back to your room.

“What gave it away?” He joked.

“I only kind of know what you look like from the comics.” You admitted. “I’m not allowed to watch the news very often.”

“Huh, well, I’m Steve Rogers but you can call me Steve.” He said and practically tucked you back into bed. You tried to smell his scent, his designation, but panicked when you couldn’t.

“I-I can’t smell anything.” You realised. “Why can’t I smell anything?”

“Bruce said that may just be a result of shock.” Steve reassured. “Your sense of smell will come back soon.”

You nodded, uncomfortable at being down a sense. “Are my family here?”

“They’ve been taking shifts.” Steve said. “But they had to give a statement about what they think happened. They’ll be back soon.” He seemed to pinken at the cheeks.

“You got my brothers mixed up, didn’t you?”

“There’s just so many!” Steve blurted. You laughed. “They all just blend into one.”

“Well there’s my mother and father too, I hope you didn’t get them mixed up.” You smiled. “And then there’s the three Alphas, Nathaniel, Thomas and Samuel. Then there’s the six Betas, Benedict, Johnathon, Fabian, Jerome, Ethan and Conrad.”

“There’s like, three others yeah?”

“Omegas.” You nodded. “Matthew, William and Tristan.”

Steve looked like all those names had just gone over his head. He was probably trying to put names to faces and failing. “I’m guessing your childhood was noisy, then?”

You shrugged. “I learned quickly how to keep twelve brothers in check.”

Before Steve could comment, the door opened and a man and woman entered. Both wore white coats and were, presumably doctors. The pretty Asian woman from before stood next to a man with curly dark hair and brown skin and glasses.

“Miss Y/L/N, I heard you went for a wander.” The man said, coming over and thrusting a torch light in your eye. “You feel alright, then?”

“I feel like I’ve run three marathons but otherwise, yeah I’m okay.”

He took the light away. “I’m Dr Bruce Banner and this is Dr Helen Cho.”

“You don’t feel ill?” Cho asked curiously. “No nausea? No pain?”

You shook your head. “I feel fine.”

“Just because you say you’re fine does not mean you’re fine.” In swaggered Tony Stark. You’d only met him a couple times and your parents had discussed the possibility of you mating him but it never went forward. Behind Tony was a man with blond hair, hearing aids and a large cup of coffee in his hand. “This is Clint Barton.” Tony waved a vague hand towards him. He then pulled out a device and poked you with it, squinting at the small screen. “Huh.”

“What?” Steve asked. “Is something wrong?”

“Nope.” He tucked the device back in his pocket. “You should be all hunky dory.”

The door opened and in swarmed your gaggle of twelve brothers. The room wasn’t very big, but it was made smaller by the sudden influx of people.

Clint looked in horror at the supposed carbon copies of the same man. “How many of that guy are you seeing?” He asked Steve.

“Those are Y/n’s brothers.” Steve explained.

Clint whistled.

 

“So, what? I’m like an air filter, is what you’re saying.”

“What? No!”

You raised an eyebrow.

“Well, okay, yes that’s sort of what I’m saying.” Tony amended. “But Bruce and I did some tests on skin cells we took – nothing invasive, don’t worry – and exposed them to intense heat, radiation, intense cold, intense pressure and a myriad of other things. Your cells shifted and adapted within moments of being exposed to make sure the cells survived.”

“So I adapt to things.” You shrugged. “That’s not exactly outstanding, is it?”

“Yes it is!” Tony burst out. “You could- you could go into danger zones! Go where it’s unsafe for human habitation! They’d kill to have you on search and rescue! Or on the Avengers, dare I say it.”

“You really think my parents are going to let me join the Avengers? When I was the supposed target of a terrorist attack?”

Tony deflated. “Okay, yeah, maybe not.”

The two of you remained silent for a long time. “Do you… do you think we’d have to tell them the truth?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, being with the Avengers is arguably the safest place on earth. They’d be all gung-ho for that. We wouldn’t have to tell them I’d be going on missions, would we?”

Tony grinned. “I like the way you think.”

“Then it’s settled.” You smiled.

“Oh but there is one person you’re not allowed to be on a mission with.” Tony added. “Just as a safety precaution.”

“Who?”

 

There were several terms and conditions to you going to stay with the Avengers.

  1. You had to keep your phone (read: tracker) on you at all times
  2. You had to call home every morning
  3. Tony had to give updates on you to your parents
  4. You weren’t allowed to be alone in a room with any Alpha
  5. You were not to start a relationship with anyone unless they met your parent’s approval
  6. No sex
  7. You had to follow your workout routine (including your meal plan)



There were probably a few more, but you did zone out after the ‘no sex’ rule. Who on Earth did they think you’d be having sex with?

Bruce/Steve was right and your sense of smell started to return slowly. From that, you could tell that Tony and Clint were Omegas, while Steve and Natasha were Alphas and the rest of the team were Betas. There was a third Alpha scent floating around but you didn’t know who it could belong to.

Sure enough, when you moved in, Nathan, Tom and Samuel were there to help you. There was an alarming amount of flexing and protective hormones being thrown out, so much so that you swatted Nathan’s arm for growling at Wanda.

“So what do you three do?” Sam asked, nodding to your Alpha brothers.

“Well, Nathan is a UFC champion.” You shrugged. “Tom works in aeronautic engineering and Samuel is a gold-medallist archer in the Olympics.”

Clint, who was listening, perked up considerably. He obviously wanted to find some common ground to relieve the tension. Clint went over to Samuel only for your brother to snarl and snap at him, making Clint retreat looking like a kicked puppy.

You scowled and went over to your brother, thoroughly berating him for being so mean. Samuel sulkily went over to Clint and mumbled an apology before going back over to Tom and Nathan.

“Well, your brothers were… nice.” Clint muttered once your brothers left.

“They’re a little tough to take.” You admitted. “Those three, anyway. They’re just very protective. They’re nice enough if, you know, I’m not around.”

“C’mon, let’s go get coffee.” Clint dragged you to the kitchen, plopping you down on one of the bar stools and starting the coffee maker.

You and Clint chatted for a good two hours before Wanda, Steve and Tony stepped out of the lift with pizza. Clint leapt over the counter and took his pizza from Tony and sat down at the coffee table.

“I, uh, didn’t know what you liked.” Steve admitted, holding your pizza out to you. “So I got you a cheese and tomato.”

“That’s perfect, thank you Steve.”

You + the Avengers all sat around the TV to watch a film that you were allowed to pick. You ended up picking BeetleJuice, a film that Nathan had shown you and made you promise not to tell your parents that he did as it was one of the forbidden films.

It was amazing, at the end, everyone started dancing with each other to ‘Jump in the Line’ and it was the most fun you’d had in years. At one point, you noticed a man you hadn’t really been introduced to was sitting by himself, just watching the dancing. You offered your hand to dance and he took it hesitantly.

Somehow, he and Steve ended up dancing with their arms either side of you. You couldn’t stop grinning, partially because you knew your mother would have a conniption if she knew, but because for the first time ever you felt like you actually had friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know i did have a tag of bucky going down with the valkyrie too but i changed my mind  
> comments and kudos are appreciated :)


End file.
